Playing Classic over the last week has been eye opening to say the least.
On one hand it is an affirmation of the legit power of Vanilla WoW. We didn’t just imagine it, there was a bunch of amazing reasons this game was such a hit when it was released. What’s even more incredible is that 15 years later so many people are back in love with it, and a lot of others are falling in love for the first time.
I did not realize how far Retail had strayed from its roots until I read some good posters on these forums explain a lot of their points. Yes, being called “Champion” all the time was a bit corny, but my character is sitting there mounted on this flying bloodtick thing, so whatever, right? I’m a filthy casual, so deep dives into game mechanics and design are not really my thing. I play for fun and escapism.
But then when I thought about it a bit a lot of things suddenly made more sense. My love for Vanilla was real, my fav all time gaming experience, and I always sought to replicate that in Retail.
I forced myself away from WoW right at the end of BC because I was playing too much, had to go cold turkey. But other video games just did not measure up. I kept coming back to Azeroth hoping for that same shot of something that got me addicted in the first place, but I would eventually lose interest and wander away, never quite sure why I was getting bored or distracted. I actually worked at finding things I enjoyed about the game, I wanted that love back. I would get excited for a bit about a new class or a new transmog or a new pet or in game thing, but it was always temporary.
Playing Classic has thrown Retail into stark relief, and at least for me has shown all the things about the modern iteration of WoW that I did not even realize I didn’t like. Luckily that is more than balanced by recognizing all the things I LOVED about Vanilla.
Retail WoW feels like a game designed by a marketing company.
“Players need a dopamine hit every 1.72 hours of gameplay. Look, that’s the math.”
“Yeah, I know but it’s kind of hard to create real depth to this storyline when --”
“You’re overthinking this, and that’s admirable but we’ve got space goats and pandas my dude, just give me something by end of week.”
“Sure, I get it, but the players need a reason to keep logging in!”
“Give them a mount! Or a pet! Or better yet… a RATING! Bro, did you even read the report? It’s all right there.”
Classic, on the other hand, crafted a world for you to go explore, adventure, play around in, get lost in. That attention to the detail of the world, the commitment to making the World of Warcraft the centerpiece of the game and the player just one small piece of that world was incredible and captivating gameplay. We made our own story as we went, based on our own unique interaction with the world. That’s why so many of us revere those Vanilla toons we had even though so many of them were completely unoptimized.
We all fell in love with Azeroth. And those toons were part of that world we loved.
But then the world was slowly pared away, bit by bit. The art was always magnificent, but the world got more and more streamlined. Everyday living in Azeroth got increasingly… convenient. Now Retail feels more like a lobby game to me. Wait for the Q to ding, AOE through the content, adhere to the button punching script, collect purplz, recalculate your scores. So calculated.
But I wanted the real Azeroth back, not pretty scrolling picture of Azeroth complete with timed dopamine releases as perscribed by the marketing research team. I have no idea what will become of Classic as the months turn in to years, but I know that right now I am getting to fully relive a brand new version of the best gaming years of my life and I am going to enjoy every second of it.
Because now, 15 years later, I finally understand how rare and wonderful these moments in life really are.